The bombshell announcement today comes as coronavirus cases in the UK have reached staggering new highs.
The Government announced on Monday that 58,784 people had tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours, with 383,834 people being diagnosed with the virus in the last seven days – up 49 percent from the previous week.
A further 407 people have died from the virus in the last day, with weekly deaths up 20 percent.
Mr Johnson said the new variant, which is up to 70 percent more transmissible, was spreading in a “frustrating and alarming” manner.
He also warned that the number of Covid patients in English hospitals is 40 percent higher than the first peak.
